Politics & Government

As far as topics go, politics may be as divisive as they come. Still, there's no escaping the role that it plays in our lives. The texts in this collection explore the gamut of how politics shapes and reshapes societies throughout history.

There Is No Place for Us

by Brian Goldstone

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, Political Science, Journalism, Poverty, Urban Studies

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The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Psychological Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Politics & Government

The novel consists of two narratives: the frame narrative—which takes the form of a conversation between the Pakistani protagonist, Changez, and an unnamed American at a café in Lahore—and the flashback narrative, told by Changez in increments, that describe his time in America both before and after the events of 9/11.  The novel is told by way of a dramatic monologue, from a first-person point of view, in the present tense. This literary device is evident... Read The Reluctant Fundamentalist Summary

The Republic

by Plato

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Ancient Greece, Education, Education, Philosophy, World History, Classical Period, Classic Fiction

The Republic is a work written by ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in 375 BC. In it, the central character Socrates talks with several other Greeks, including Plato’s brothers, about the nature of morality. The main question they ask is whether a moral life is its own reward. Does being moral intrinsically benefit people? In doing this, they also explore the nature of the ideal society. They look at the laws this society would... Read The Republic Summary

The Return

by Hisham Matar

Publication year 2016

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Memory, The Past, Politics & Government, Truth & Lies

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Politics & Government, Military & War, History: African

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The Rights of Man

by Thomas Paine

Publication year 1791

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, US History, European History

Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man (1791) is one of the 18th-century’s most influential political treatises. It offers a spirited defense of the ongoing French Revolution and calls for dramatic reforms in Britain. Paine wrote Rights of Man as a direct response to Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a conservative critique that professes skepticism and even horror at the course of events in France since the Revolution began in 1789. Rights of... Read The Rights of Man Summary

The River of Doubt

by Candice Millard

Publication year 2005

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Animals, Environment, Plants, Place, Safety & Danger

Tags World History, Biography, US History, History of the Americas, Politics & Government, Travel Literature, Action & Adventure

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey (2005) is a work of nonfiction by Candice Millard, a former writer and editor for National Geographic. The book describes Roosevelt’s 1914 expedition down an unexplored river in the Amazon rainforest, which nearly cost him his life. Despite poor preparation for the trip, Roosevelt and the group managed to overcome the Amazon’s physical and psychological challenges and placed a 1,000-mile river on the map in a historic... Read The River of Doubt Summary

The Road To Serfdom

by Friedrich Hayek

Publication year 1944

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics

Tags Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

As World War II raged around him, F.A. Hayek wrote and published The Road to Serfdom, which became a touchstone of the campaign to preserve personal and economic freedoms. The book argues that Western democracies’ attraction to socialism will take them down a path to authoritarian dictatorships like those in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Government planning of economies, Hayek declares, must result in arbitrary and unfair edicts, as well as a loss of individual... Read The Road To Serfdom Summary

The Road to Wigan Pier

by George Orwell

Publication year 1937

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Social Class, Community

Tags Social Justice, Social Class, European History, British Literature, Journalism, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government, Biography

The Road to Wigan Pier is a 1937 nonfiction book by George Orwell. The book describes Orwell’s firsthand experiences of life in Great Britain’s working-class communities in the early 20th century and advocates for the adoption of socialism. SummaryThe Road to Wigan Pier begins in a small lodging house in Northern England. The impoverished, rundown house rents crowded rooms to people who work in the nearby mines. The landlord, Mr. Brooker, was once a miner... Read The Road to Wigan Pier Summary

The Room Where It Happened

by John Bolton

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, US History, World History, Biography

The Room Where It Happened is a nonfiction memoir published in 2020 by American diplomat John Bolton. A New York Times best-seller, the book chronicles Bolton’s 17-month tenure as national security advisor under President Donald Trump. Between April 2018 and September 2019, Bolton was party to some of the most important events in Trump’s presidency, including two summits with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, the US’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and the 2019... Read The Room Where It Happened Summary

The Septembers Of Shiraz

by Dalia Sofer

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Safety & Danger, Art, The Past, Fear, Nation, Nostalgia

Tags Historical Fiction, World History, Arts & Culture, Middle Eastern Literature, Realistic Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Incarceration, Middle Eastern History, Trauma & Abuse, Politics & Government, Jewish Literature

The Septembers of Shiraz (2007), a novel by Iranian writer Dalia Sofer, recounts the experiences of the Amins, an Iranian Jewish family, during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. The book is closely based on Sofer’s family history: When Sofer was 10, her family fled Iran, crossing the border to Turkey with the help of smugglers. The Septembers of Shiraz depicts the changing atmosphere and events that characterize the treatment of the wealthy class... Read The Septembers Of Shiraz Summary

The Sexual Contract

by Carole Pateman

Publication year 1988

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Equality, Gender Identity, Community

Tags Philosophy, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Politics & Government

The Sexual Contract, published in 1988 by Polity Press, is an examination of social contract theory through a radical feminist lens. While acknowledging that the original contract itself is a political fiction, Carole Pateman claims that the original contract is a sexual-social contract that secures patriarchy and relations of sexually differentiated domination and subordination in modern civil society. However, dominant interpretations repress the sexual contract so that civil society appears to be post- or anti-patriarchal... Read The Sexual Contract Summary